Happy New Year!
by totheextraordinarykb
Summary: Prompt generously supplied by a Tumblr follower: "The 12th is celebrating something your choice castle pops a champagne bottle, the cork hits beckett in the eye. you go on from there." Set pre-Knockout.


Prompt generously supplied by a Tumblr follower: "The 12th is celebrating something (your choice) castle pops a champagne bottle, the cork hits beckett in the eye. you go on from there."

* * *

It's New Years Eve, only ten minutes to midnight, but Beckett, Esposito and Ryan are just stepping into the elevator of the Twelfth. Chasing their perp had taken all night, but in the end, justice prevailed. He was now in lock up, and they could go home and steal a few hours of sleep before returning in the morning.

Ryan shifts anxiously, and Beckett eyes him. He had taken a call earlier, at about 8 pm, and since then, he'd seemed anxious. The job had stolen him away from his plans with Jenny, she concluded, and she was sorry for that. It was easier for her, Beckett realized, without a boyfriend to worry about, a family to come home to.

Lost in thought, she steps out of the elevator and onto the floor of homicide. It takes four steps before she realizes that the precinct is alive with activity. "What the…" she mutters, as she sees New Year's decorations and off-duty cops with glasses of alcohol and plates of food in hand. "Castle!" she exclaims.

Beckett wheels around to face Esposito and Ryan. Ryan's looking away guiltly, as Esposito meets her glare full-on, the corners of his mouth curled up in a small smile. "Did you guys know about this?!" They nod; Ryan said that Jenny had called and told him that she'd meet him at the precinct for the party. "I'm going to kill him!"

A berth clears as Beckett strides forward, searching for that insufferable writer who always follows her, who thinks a precinct – a goddamn precinct! – is an acceptable place for a New Years party, who doesn't ask permission, just does these stupid, irresponsible things without a thought…

There he is! Hands on a bottle of champagne, blissfully unaware of the angry woman approaching him from behind, Castle chats happily with the men around him. He snaps around hard as he hears her voice snap out, "Richard Castle!" and stands there, lamely holding the champagne bottle between them.

Beckett storms forward, puts her finger on his chest, and pokes him, hard. "You cannot be serious! You threw a New Years Eve Party in the PRECINCT! And not to mention the fact you didn't ask permission! What were you thinking?!"

He stares at her as she rants, but begins to smile, which only serves to enrage her further. If only she knew how hot she was when she was upset! He waits for her tirade to end before speaking, "Captain Montgomery was in on the plan," he nods to the man across the room, who's looking over at the pair with amusement on his face. "Besides, you needed a real New Years. In all the years I've known you, you've never once taken off this night. Come on Beckett! You're technically supposed to be off-duty." He holds up the bottle. "Have a glass of champagne with me, watch the ball go down, and maybe even share a good luck peck," he winks to soften the tension, "and then you can go home. It'll take ten minutes, fifteen at most."

He cocks his head, an unspoken invitation for her to join the party, and she looks down at the bottle in his hand. Oh crap, she realizes, that's good champagne. Frowning, looking to her Captain, she sees him nod once. Esposito and Ryan already have beers in hand and Jenny's holding a wine glass. Just this once…

"Okay, Castle. Fifteen minutes, and I want a glass."

Castle grins and grabs two glasses, handing them to her. "Beckett, you're not going to regret this. This champagne is unbelievable. I had a bottle one time when –"

"OW! Son of a –" Kate Beckett holds her eye, glaring at him, before smacking him with the other one, accenting each word with a hit. "Have you NEVER opened a champagne bottle before, you IDIOT?!"

Castle is stunned. He can't figure out what's happened, before he feels the liquid bubbling on his hand. He must have loosened the cork without looking at where he was aiming it and hit her in the eye. God, that had to have hurt.

She's staring at him as he figures it out, and he belatedly springs into action. "Oh crap! Kate, I'm sorry!" He runs to the ice bucket, gathers up a few ice cubes in a napkin and tries to put them onto her eye over her hand. She resists, but he does not relent. "Kate, just use them. Crap. We should get you to a hospital."

"No!" she says, looking around at the scene they've caused. "I'm fine," she announces, more for the benefit of the crowd. "I'll be fine, anyway," she mutters to herself, sitting down in her desk chair. Castle kneels beside her on the ground, looking up as though trying to sense her next need, to be prepared. The majority of the onlookers have moved towards the TV screens as the final countdown to the New Years begins. "Go ahead, Castle," she bumps him lightly with her knee, "Go watch the ball drop, get your good luck kiss from one of the new patrols."

He shakes his head. "I'm okay here." She frowns at him, not really believing he'd rather be here than at the center of the party, so Castle continues to speak, even as the crowd begins the count. "This is where I'd want to ring in my New Years, anyway."

Beckett's taken by surprise at the sincerity of Castle's statement. There was no hint of a tease, no sexual innuendo behind it; there was only emotion. Their eyes lock, and the chanting of "10, 9, 8…" fades away as both lean towards the other. The movement's unconscious, a gravitational pull between two poles, but the attraction is undeniable. His eyes fall to her lips, and she bites her bottom one out of habit. The cheers of the station jolt them out of their collision course, as they both pull back.

"Happy New Year, Rick," Beckett states.

"Happy New Year, Kate." Castle replies, before smiling. "So, about that good luck kiss?"

"What about it?"

"I wouldn't want you to have this," he motions to her eye, "happen again because you didn't get your good luck kiss for this year."

"Oh, you planned this didn't you?! Nearly blinded me, and all for a kiss!"

"Whoa, Kate, I did not plan this. The universe did."

"Right, the _universe_ now has to land you every kiss. That's just pathetic, Castle."

"Just kiss him already!" Both heads quickly turn at the voice, and Lanie stares down at them, exasperated. "Go on!" Ryan, his arm around Jenny, and Esposito both nod their agreement. The Captain stands just behind them, not speaking, but his smile shows his agreement.

Castle looks at her. "Well, the masses have spoken!"

She frowns, certain this is a bad idea. But maybe it's the lateness of the hour, or the pain in her eye, or just the fact that all of her friends are cheering her on, but she leans forward.

Their lips touch, and Kate breathes into the kiss, because this feels so right, so perfect, and their bodies scoot closer together as his hand moves to her neck, into her hair, and hers to his cheek. Their mouths open just slightly, and she feels him suck her bottom lip between his. She thinks she might melt into the feeling, into him, and she drops the ice as she swings her arm around his neck, pulling him closer. His tongue brushes against her lips, and she invites him in. He tastes like the champagne and faintly like chocolate, and she can't believe she's lived her whole life without knowing that taste, because it's addictive, so wonderful.

But the sound of coughing makes her blink, pull back, as she's brought into reality. Ryan's the one who coughed, fidgeting uncomfortably, and Lanie's glaring at him, as though disappointed he interrupted. Jenny just smiles at her, and when their eyes met, she gives a slight nod of understanding. Esposito is just giddy, and she's certain she's never going to hear the end of this one. And Montgomery? He's proud. She's certain of it.

Castle looks stunned, his mouth still hanging slightly open, his lips plump, and she has this urge to kiss them again, to taste that unique combination that is just perfectly Castle, but she composes herself. "So, Castle, there you are. You'll have good luck next year. Now, if you'll excuse me, you promised me this would take fifteen minutes. By my count, my debt is fulfilled, and I'd like to get to bed." She gets out of the chair, puts on her trench coat, before smiling at the gang. "Good work today, guys. It's good to see you, Jenny. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Lanie. Night, Captain!" Walking away, Castle still motionless, she offers one final departing call, "Happy New Years!"

As the elevator doors close, and she's finally alone, her fingers lift to her lips and trace them as she grins, her heart fluttering. She just kissed Richard Castle! Holy crap. She just kissed Richard Castle. The black eye she's going to have tomorrow was totally worth it.

Good luck, indeed.

* * *

_Author's Note: Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed this sweet one-shot. At the moment, my firewall has been blocking access to , hence my lengthy absence. I have a number of chapters written, a new story begun, and a pipeline of requests that I'm stoked to start. I'll have questionable access to the internet through the 20th, but will post as I can. After that, I will be looking to always post updates/new one-shots every three or so days. :)_

_Keep reading, friends! And please, reviews are ALWAYS appreciated. I think I've actually gotten better from some of the feedback I've received, but I always have room for improvement - help me get better!  
_

_:D_


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